- Fake nuclear warnings issued after Ukrainian and Russian air alert apps hacked
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Ukraine and Russia have both said air alert apps were hacked on Sunday night after fake messages warning of attacks, including nuclear, were sent to users. Ukraine’s widely used app sent red-level air raid warnings across the country, with additional warnings of radiation, chemical attacks, and street fighting sent to some residents in areas including Kyiv. A few hours later, Russian authorities said a similar app was hacked after fake alerts, some of which contained foul language, were triggered. It was unclear who was behind the cyberattacks or whether the two incidents were connected.” (11/02/26)
- Judge says xAI must face NAACP lawsuit on data center pollution
Source: Engadget
“A federal judge’s latest ruling has denied xAI’s request to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges its data center campus in Memphis, Tennessee is running turbines without proper permits and violating the Clean Air Act. The decision, from US District Judge Debra M. Brown, allows the lawsuit, which was filed by the NAACP, to move forward. The organization filed its legal action against xAI in April, accusing the company that’s now known as SpaceXSI of using unpermitted methane gas turbines to power data centers in the Memphis area.” (11/01/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2303462/judge-says-xai-must-face-naacp-lawsuit-on-data-center-pollution/
- MA: Lindsay Clancy returns to court in bid to dismiss charges
Source: SFGate
“Lindsay Clancy returned to court Monday in a bid to dismiss the charges that she murdered her three young children. The hearing Monday was the second time the Massachusetts mother has been in court since her trial ended with a deadlocked jury in September after jurors were unable to agree on a verdict. Its focus was a motion from the defense to dismiss the charges on double jeopardy grounds. The proceedings grew heated as defense attorney Kevin Reddington urged the judge to investigate the lone holdout juror, questioning his cell phone use during jury deliberations and whether he had been truthful during jury selection. Judge William Sullivan repeatedly intervened as Reddington publicly identified the juror and raised allegations involving potentially confidential information.” (11/02/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/lindsay-clancy-returns-to-court-in-a-bid-to-22506054.php
- Somali pirates seize Iranian fishing vessel, raising fears of attacks on cargo ships
Source: ABC News
“Somali pirates have seized an Iranian fishing vessel carrying 23 people, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean said, warning that the ship was approaching a commercial shipping lane and could become a floating base for further attacks. The Azini was hijacked Thursday between the coastal towns of Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia, a maritime security officer with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said Sunday. The officer told The Associated Press that 12 pirates seized the vessel, which was carrying 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards.” (11/01/26)
- Annual Fundraiser, Act II
THANK YOU to subscribing contributor JS, whose $10 monthly payment over the weekend brings our annual fundraiser total to (as of 5am Monday) $1,093.50!
We’re about 1/3 of the way through the fundraising period, and about 40% of the way to our goal. Ever so slightly “ahead of the curve,” but we’ve also been coasting a bit — and the more quickly we get where we’re going, the more quickly I can stop running my yap about money.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
Once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us across the $5,503 finish line. The latter can’t happen until the former does, so please help out:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Iran: Regime offers 48-hour Hormuz reopening plan as Trump signals progress in talks
Source: Investing.com
“Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington meets its conditions, offering a breakthrough in talks to end the war as both sides warn that renewed fighting could spread regionally. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Qatari mediators had helped shorten Tehran’s seven-day reopening proposal. Under the revised sequence, the U.S. would take steps on the first day, and shipping would resume on the second. Meanwhile, Iranian negotiators reportedly held a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators on Sunday to advance a deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, according to a Reuters News report.” (11/01/26)
- Judge tosses frivolous DOJ lawsuit over US Senate race
Source: The Hill
“A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit in Alaska that sought to block certification if the second Dan Sullivan running for Senate causes voter confusion and leads Democrats to flip the seat. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled the administration hadn’t shown how she could rectify their concerns, as ballots are already prepared and Election Day is on Tuesday. … The administration can now try to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.” (11/01/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6186982-judge-dismisses-trump-alaska-lawsuit
- UK: Palestine Action Ban Faces Supreme Court Challenge as Police Abduct More Than 300 Outside US Embassy
Source: International Business Times [UK]
“The Palestine Action ban faces a Supreme Court challenge this week after Saturday’s protest outside the US embassy in London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday that officers had arrested 325 people. The group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act on 5 July 2025. Its co-founder subsequently secured permission to appeal against the ban, after conflicting judgements in the lower courts left the legality of the measure contested. Of those detained, 320 were arrested on suspicion of ‘expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act’, the Met stated.” (11/02/26)
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/palestine-action-ban-supreme-court-challenge-london-arrests-1829515
- Russia: New suspected radar in Kaliningrad could spy deep into Europe
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“The Kremlin is getting closer to opening its ‘new eye’ on Europe. Construction of a towering radar complex is almost complete in Russia’s highly militarized exclave of Kaliningrad, according to reports. From above, the three radiating arms of the sprawling facility, each more than 500 meters (1,640 feet) long, look like some sort of alien lifeform has left its mark on an otherwise undisturbed stretch of forested nature reserve. You could actually compare it to a landing platform or launch pad for Moscow’s massive intelligence-gathering network. While Russia has not confirmed it is building the structure, security expert Vaidotas Malinionis said the radar will be so big, it will be able to see beyond the earth’s curvature.” (11/01/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/russias-giant-new-radar-in-kaliningrad-raises-alarm-in-nato/a-79797815
- Bulgaria: Initial results suggest Yotova wins runoff to become first elected female president
Source: Associated Press
“Acting President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner of Bulgaria’s presidential runoff, initial results of the vote count on Sunday showed, as former interim Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov conceded defeat. According to the count by several polling agencies, Yotova received 58% of the vote. If confirmed by official results, she would become Bulgaria’s first elected female head of state. Gyurov, backed by reformist pro-Western opposition parties, is said to be trailing at around 38%. … The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Rumen Radev ’s Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party, which endorsed Yotova. In April’s parliamentary vote, the party won 131 of the 240 seats in Parliament, securing an outright majority.” (11/01/26)
- Judge throws out frivolous Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Saying the president was ‘grasping at straws,’ a U.S. federal judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump’s $10-billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice, ruling that the president did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice as required by law. … When a case is thrown out ‘with prejudice,’ it cannot be refiled again and the dismissal is permanent and incontrovertible.” (10/31/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-jeffrey-epstein-lawsuit-dismissed-9.7404357
- India: Opposition parties stage new protest against elections chief
Source: ABC News
“India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew tens of thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.” (11/01/26)
- Trump Calls $50 Million Contract for Ex-Lawyer Habba Mildon “Not Acceptable”
Source: US News & World Report
“President Donald Trump said on Saturday it was ‘unacceptable’ for one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, to secure a $50 million contract for herself while working at the US Department of Justice. … the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker facing US felony bribery charges before striking a plea deal in August 2025, guaranteed Habba Mildon more than $50 million over four years. The deal, according to the newspaper, would pay $10 million a year plus bonuses. … Habba Mildon was serving as the acting US attorney in New Jersey when she signed the contract with Herrera’s family company, Concord Partners, days after it was registered in late October 2025, the New York Times reported.” (10/31/26)
- Turkey: Regime moves Kurdish militant leader as part of peace process
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Turkey has moved the country’s Kurdish militant leader to a newly built part of an island prison where he has been incarcerated since 1999 as part of efforts to end decades of conflict, a senior Kurdish official said. Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, who heads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been a key Kurdish demand in the push to end the 42-year-long conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities. Ocalan has been imprisoned in a penitentiary on the island of Imrali in the Marmara Sea – which links the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea – since he was captured in 1999.” (11/01/26)
- Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening to prosecute election officials
Source: Politico
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over their handling of disputes about voter qualifications. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson also ordered the Trump administration to cease demanding that election workers remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse to issue ballots to specific voters or segregate ballots cast in the midterms based on the administration’s claims that some voters are ineligible.” (10/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/31/justice-department-election-officials-threats-ruling
- Germany: Shops looted as cost-of-living protests turn violent
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt late on Saturday as clashes erupted in German cities over the cost of living. Besides Frankfurt – Germany’s financial hub – there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to disperse protesters who were targeting emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. … Overnight, a large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed off by police. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city.” (11/01/26)
- Binance resumes crypto withdrawals after major hack blamed on North Korea
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Binance said Sunday that it had resumed withdrawals after a major hack that affected more than $6 billion in funds. Binance, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, had suspended user withdrawals after the attack. … The FBI accused North Korea of being behind the attack on Saturday, confirming earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a Pyongyang-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.” (11/01/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/business/20261101-binance-says-resuming-withdrawals-after-major-hack
- CT: US Senator suffers stroke at son’s hockey game
Source: New York Post
“Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his son’s hockey game, his office said Sunday. The Democrat, 53, felt numbness in his arm during the game Saturday and was rushed to a local hospital. He was later moved to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, where he is ‘awake and alert,’ according to chief of staff Allison Herwitt. … Murphy — a rumored 2028 presidential contender — isn’t up for reelection until 2030, but had been crisscrossing the country stumping for midterm candidates, with visits to Michigan, Minnesota and Florida in recent weeks.” (11/01/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/us-news/outspoken-dem-sen-chris-murphy-suffers-stroke-in-front-of-son/
- “Pop-up” super PACs pour $637 million into 2026 midterm races
Source: CNBC
“Late-forming super PAC spending has surged in 2026. Twenty-two groups created in the final 10 weeks before Election Day have each spent at least $1 million on congressional races, totaling about $637 million, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings. That accounts for about one-sixth of independent expenditures in 2026 congressional races, CNBC found. Federal disclosure rules can leave voters in the dark about who is paying for the ads. Super PACs must rapidly report their spending, but donor disclosures can come weeks later — and, for the latest-forming groups, after Election Day.” (10/31/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/31/2026-midterm-election-super-pacs-donor-disclosure.html
- Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine as Kherson ceasefire ends
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A rare humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine’s front-line Kherson region that allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky has ended. The localised ceasefire was due to end at 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday. While the truce had held since it was implemented last week, fighting had continued elsewhere. On Sunday evening, Ukraine’s air alert system was apparently hacked, the country’s air force said, warning of radiation over Kyiv – a reference to a possible nuclear attack. … Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight on Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Some connections were restored on Sunday.” (11/01/26)
- Midterm Election Incoherences, Misadventures & Paradoxes
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“In June 2022, the price of gasoline topped $5 a gallon and stayed around $4 a gallon through October, on the eve of the midterms. It is currently about $4.30. The inflation rate in 2022 hit a 40-year high of 9.1 percent, and would average 5.1 percent over Joe Biden’s four-year tenure. The 2026 inflation rate is estimated to be about 3.5 percent and, over the first two years of the second Trump administration, will likely average around 3 percent. GDP for the third quarter of 2026 is higher than it was in the same quarter of 2022. The poverty rate is now lower and the annual family income higher than in November 2022. Yet we are told that gas prices and inflation are at record levels and will doom the Republicans, even though similar economic data did not harm Democrats all that much in the 2022 midterms.” (11/02/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/11/02/midterm-election-incoherences-misadventures-and-paradoxes/
- Republicans Are As Socialist As Democrats
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Thomas Eddlem“While a unified Democratic government has tended to see the fastest growth in government spending since World War II, government grows faster overall under Republican presidents than Democratic ones. And the only real decreases in the size of government spending happened during those six years where there were Democratic presidents and Republican majorities in Congress, first with the post-war build-down under Harry Truman (1947-48), and next after modest cut-backs from the bloated spending of the financial and COVID crises under Barack Obama (2009-10) and Donald Trump (2020), respectively.” (11/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/republicans-are-as-socialist-as-democrats
- My Journey to the Center of America’s Political Spam Text Hell
Source: Wired
by Dhruv Mehrotra“I’ve gotten nearly 2,000 campaign fundraising texts that were meant for someone else. I tried to find out why—and uncovered a labyrinth of politicians, data brokers, and shady tactics.” (11/02/26)
- Trump Is Using a Trade Law Relic to Illegally Punish Canada
Source: The Dispatch
by Ilya Somin“Courts have already ruled against two avenues President Donald Trump used to impose his tariff regime. That hasn’t stopped his efforts to attempt to deploy obscure or outdated trade law provisions to justify new import levies. His latest tool is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the notorious legislation that gravely exacerbated the Great Depression. … Even if Section 338 is still operative, Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods violate its requirements.” (11/02/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-canada-tariffs-section-338-lawsuit/
- My Life in a Skull of Ghosts: Confessions of a Traumagenic Tulpamancer
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid“Agnes was who I was on the inside before the abuse, before being me became just too painful to consciously bare, and she has haunted me throughout my life, with terrifying flashbacks and a deep sense of guilt over some confusing notion that I had left something or someone behind. For a long time, I didn’t know what she was. I would get repeated waking visions of a little girl in pigtails and a black velvet party dress smashing all the stained-glass windows in my church. I took to calling her the little girl with the hammer, but it was only when I gave her the name Agnes and decided to listen to what she had to say that she began talking back to me …” (11/01/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/11/my-life-in-skull-of-ghosts-confessions.html
- Prison Gastronomy: Vegemite as a Cultural Right
Source: CounterPunch
by Binoy Kampmark“Should criminals be allowed the softening joys of favourite foods and longed for staples? The overcooked roast, the undercooked dumpling? And, for Australians, a foodstuff (hardly a food) so reprehensible it would draw disapproval from any respectable panel from UNESCO? Last month, Andre McKenchnie, a convicted murderer detained at Victoria’s Barwon Prison, attempted to test the judicial waters that not being allowed to consume the famous yeast spread of Vegemite was a denial of human rights under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act, specifically the right to ‘enjoy his culture’ as an Australian.” (11/02/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/11/02/prison-gastronomy-vegemite-as-a-cultural-right/
- Will “Gina” Break Texas’s Corporate Welfare Consensus?
Source: The American Prospect
by Davide Mamone“Her full name is Regina Inez Hinojosa, but almost nobody in Texas calls her that. From the people she met on the streets during the final stretch of her campaign to her own staff, Hinojosa is simply ‘Gina’. Her hope, and that of the Democratic Party, is that her nickname will soon become ‘Governor Gina’, as volunteers and supporters chanted while welcoming her to Fort Bend County ahead of a canvassing event this weekend. A civil rights lawyer by training and a former Austin school board president, Hinojosa challenged incumbent Greg Abbott for Texas governor with a message that goes beyond the usual Democratic arguments about Republican extremism. Unlike many of her predecessors, she has explicitly focused her campaign on reining in corporate welfare, while supporting public education and expanding the safety net for middle-class families.” (11/02/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/11/02/texas-gina-hinojosa-greg-abbott-corporate-welfare-consensus/
- Quantum Vibe, 11/01/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott BieserCartoon. (11/01/26)
- Doomsday Plan: Indicator or Not, Prepping is Just Common Sense
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L. Knapp“I’d like to say ‘don’t panic,’ and that’s exactly what I will say — not because I’m convinced nothing bizarre is about to happen, but because ‘prepping’ is always good advice anyway. These news cycle indicators may or may not be predictive in the near term, but laying in some shelf-stable food and bottled water can’t hurt and will stand you in good stead for even the smaller ‘disasters’ that have always been part of life (blizzards, hurricanes, etc.). IS something big coming? I haven’t the faintest. I don’t move in circles of power where I’d pick up that kind of thing before you. That said, we live in a time of multiple escalating crises.” (11/01/26)
- Should lovers of liberty and christians vote?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“How involved should lovers of liberty (minarchists and especially anarchists) be involved in issues of government? Closely tied to that question, how involved should christians and libertarians be in issues that relate to human (‘civil’) government? Should they vote in elections, write government representatives, support candidates, and speak out about political issues relating to liberty, morality, responsibility, family, and freedom (not just but especially religious freedom)? For christians, what about the separation of church and state? For libertarians in general, what about separation of school and state?” (10/31/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/10/31/should-lovers-of-liberty-and-christians-vote/
- For Libertarians, Election Day Is the Cruelest Day of the Year
Source: Reason
by Nick Gillespie“There is rarely anyone worth voting for who might actually win in most races. That’s got to change.” (10/31/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/31/for-libertarians-election-day-is-the-cruelest-day-of-the-year/
- A Wile E. Coyote Caper in Alaska
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“Counterfactuals are of limited use, but it does not seem likely that the Democratic nominee in Alaska, Mary Peltola, needed to engage in ballot shenanigans to win. She has been consistently ahead in the polls, including in head-to-head polls in which the third candidate is a non-factor, and some polls, including those from the New York Times/Siena and other credible sources, have had her at or above 50 percent. All of the media attention to the ballot-stacking story has probably done very little other than to dirty up her name, blunt the Democrats’ natural advantage vis-à-vis Donald Trump’s Republicans on the issue of corruption and democratic probity, and—not least—remind Alaskans what the name of their not particularly impressive Class II incumbent senator is.” (10/30/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/alaska-caper-democrats-midterms-dan-sullivan/
- Why Weren’t We Warned?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Alan Cassels“Apparently, the fact that young people aren’t having much sex today is being captured in surveys from around the world. This is proving to be worrisome not simply as a cultural artifact, but because the lack of sex is resulting in plunging birth rates, causing fertility in nearly every OECD country to drop to historic lows. The lack of sex is not only shrinking populations, but also causing huge demographic changes as countries turn older. What exactly is going on?” (11/01/26)
- Confident People Don’t Do What Dems Doing at End of the Campaign
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“Confidence is an important factor in any election – candidates need to project it, and supporters need to feel it for morale purposes to help them get across the finish line. Democrats had all the confidence in the world a month ago…but it’s not a month ago anymore. In the closing two weeks of the 2026 midterms, Democrats have begun to act like people concerned that they’re going to lose. In Alaska, Democrats were always worried about losing – it’s Alaska, after all. That’s why they cooked up this stupid ‘Find another Dan Sullivan’ scam to confuse just enough voters to get into the second round of ranked-choice voting.” (11/01/26)
- Why VPNs Are Worth Defending
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Hayley Tsukayama“Developers of virtual private network (VPN) apps are reporting that their products are again being pulled from Apple’s App Store in Russia. This is an unacceptable crackdown on a vital tool to protect privacy and speech online. Why? VPNs give people a way to control their own online activities. When you visit a website through a VPN, that website only sees the VPN server’s location (well, IP address) rather than your actual location. It’s like sending a letter through a P.O. box so the recipient doesn’t know where you really live. It can also disguise where you’re accessing information from, which can make it possible to access information banned by your government.” (10/30/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/10/why-vpns-are-worth-defending
- The Real Threat of Election Interference
Source: The Atlantic
by Shane Harris“For years, Trump has claimed that foreign governments possess the power to hack electronic voting machines to change the outcome of a race. Election-security experts and lawmakers told me that they expect him to trot out the same claims again if Republicans lose large numbers of seats in the House and Senate. And they’re concerned that he’ll use classified intelligence reports as a pretext for trying to seize ballots or stop vote-counting by the states.” (10/30/26)
- For this election, the faithful appeal to voters’ conscience
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Every two years, Gallup survey researchers ask Americans how much ‘thought’ they typically give to congressional midterm elections. This year’s 56% response of ‘quite a lot’ is the highest recorded over the nearly 70 years since Gallup first asked that question in 1958. Economic and financial pressures are a primary driver of heightened attention to the 2026 midterms. But a majority of Americans also say they are ‘stressing out’ about ‘the future of the nation’ (74%) and civic division (58%). In response, a wide range of civic and interfaith collaboration is seeking to pierce the haze of uncertainty and polarization. A quick online search reveals dozens of prayer gatherings and community conversations scheduled across the United States in the weeks and days preceding the Nov. 3 vote.” (10/30/26)
- How Britain Became the Place to Do Business
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Madsen Pirie“There are many phrases of Adam Smith that are well worth echoing today, and one of the most significant is this: ‘The end of all production is consumption.’ It is not to create jobs. The people who talk of new industries creating many new jobs are putting the cart before the horse. The aim of production is not to give people work to do; it is to produce goods and services that people will freely buy because they help improve their lives.” (10/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/how-britain-became-the-place-to-do-business/
- The Democrats’ “All Trick, No Treat” Strategy
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter“The gloaming deepened on a Halloween in the early 1970s. A restless gaggle of youths just turned teens pondered making a final stab at trick-or-treating. The problem? They had no costumes, having earlier laughed at how such garb was for little kids, not for them. But now, uncool or not, those costumed kids were getting free candy. They were not. Amid the enveloping darkness, Jack-o’-lanterns flickered and costumed children tittered and flitted from door to door. Time was expiring. What to do? One youth, his face etched with angst, hesitantly floated a trial balloon in the gloaming. ‘Let’s just knock doors like this’. The gaggle eyed one another’s black T-shirts, jeans, and boots. The bald suggestion hung in the air until… Shrugs. Swiftly, pillowcases were pilfered from their unwitting parents and the gaggle’s quest for treats sans costumes commenced. It didn’t go well.” (10/31/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/31/the-democrats-all-trick-no-treat-strategy/
- The Boy Who Cried Bear
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I just returned from a long visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Great fun, but there’s a background climate of fear. Wherever you go, you see and hear warnings about bears — and admonitions to carry bear spray. The warnings and admonitions come from official signage, friends, and fellow tourists. Conveniently enough, bear spray is available at virtually every store, for a price of $40 a can. … soon after I bought my bear spray — and spotted our first bear — I decided to confirm the risk. I found much ado about next to nothing. Over the last ten years, Yellowstone saw just 9 bear attacks, with 0 deaths. Grand Teton had 1 bear attack, with 0 deaths.” (10/30/26)
- The Viral Red Baron Employee’s Fundraiser Is A Feel-Bad Story
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“The viral Red Baron Pizza worker and his $500,000 fundraiser is not a feel-good story, it’s a feel-bad story. Everything about it says horrible things about where our society is headed. Some obnoxious prick films a guy working his fingers to the bone for a ‘prank’ hoping to get social media clicks, and the worker flips out at him because his shitty, abusive job had stretched him a hair’s breadth from snapping. The video goes viral because people sympathize with a father shouting at a creepy live-streamer about how his shift was supposed to end an hour ago and he needs to get up at five in the morning to do it all again so his family doesn’t get evicted from the home he’s struggling to pay for, and then a fundraiser is launched which winds up giving the man half a million dollars.” (10/31/26)
- What is Socialism? Don’t Ask Mamdani or Vance
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott A Burns“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Two socialists walk into a bar. One, a socialist of the more nationalist vintage—a self-styled ‘Heritage American,’ though he dares not utter the dreaded ‘S’ word. The other, a more traditional Marxist, with some critical theory and anti-Zionism sprinkled in for good measure. Both are politicians dripping with smarm. As soon as the two men belly up to the bar, an angry economist approaches them with a question: ‘Why should I vote for either of you bozos?'” (10/30/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/30/what-is-socialism-mamdani-vance/
- Default Democrats
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Daniel Shapiro“Why a longtime Libertarian Party voter thinks lovers of liberty should vote Democratic this year.” (10/30/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/default-democrats
- As the Midterms Wrap Up, One Maine Business Keeps Calm and Carries On
Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley“Heading out early on a brisk, bright Saturday morning, brilliant red, gold, yellow trees shimmered in every direction as Maine’s autumn temperatures recovered from near freezing overnight to warmish. It’s prime fleece season in New England and beyond, but Ben Waxman is losing business. Waxman is a co-owner of American Roots, a small clothing manufacturer, one of the businesses in the Dana Warp Mill, a restored 19th-century textile mill on the banks of the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, a Portland suburb. The firm makes T-shirts, hoodies, and specially designed casual wear, and proclaims its products ‘Union Strong, American Made, Proudly Sewn in Maine’. For months, the outlook has been any anything but robust, since the Trump administration launched a trade war against Canada and a shooting war against Iran.” (10/30/26)
- Christians Grapple With How Their Faith Can Renew Liberal Democracy
Source: The UnPopulist
by Berny Belvedere“Under Donald Trump, much of the American church has gained a political ally at the risk of its soul—Mark 8:36 in concrete form. [Michael] Wear didn’t call MAGA Christianity a disaster for country and faith in so many words, but his diagnosis landed in the same place.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/christians-grapple-with-how-their
- SPOOKY TORTS: The 2026 list of litigation horrors
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“‘Something wicked this way comes.’ Those words from William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ capture the approach of Halloween. For tort litigators, it is welcome news for a holiday that is a mix of slip-and-falls, food liability, and costume defects. Each year, we add to the list of Halloween torts. So let us begin. Last year, a group of people walked past the Fear Factor haunted house run by Murder Beach Productions. Their employee approached the group and asked a girl kid ‘Who is that’ She replied, ‘My Dad, but he’s scared.’ The performer then stated, ‘Watch what I do to him!’ and chased Harrison Wright down the sidewalk until he fell face first on the concrete, resulting in a 2-inch laceration to the head, permanent injuries, post-traumatic headaches, loss of wages and medical bills.” (10/31/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/10/31/spooky-torts-the-2026-list-of-litigation-horrors/
- Your Starbucks Balance Is Working Harder Than You Think
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner“Gift card and app balances aren’t just waiting to buy your coffee; they’re helping Starbucks grow. Customer loyalty is a surprising source of corporate financing.” (10/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/your-starbucks-balance-is-working-harder-than-you-think/
- Buckley’s Truth
Source: Law & Liberty
by Robert P George“William F. Buckley would have smiled at Hankins’[s] description of him as ‘the liberal gentleman.’ Buckley was, of course, the founding father of the modern American conservative movement—a movement whose mission, as he and his co-founders conceived it, was to oppose what had come to be known as “liberalism” in American politics. In the context of the intellectual boxing matches in which Buckley was a star pugilist, ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ were antonyms. How, then, does Buckley count, in Hankins’[s] reckoning, as a ‘liberal?’ The answer is that Buckley believed in what has come to be known as ‘liberal education.'” (10/30/26)
- Will we ever learn the truth about Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein?
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Robin Abcarian“More than 3 million pages of the Epstein files have been released, yet millions more remain under DOJ lock and key, subject to lawsuits, redactions and accusations of coverup. With the midterm elections dominating the news, the Iran war far from resolved and Americans suffering from sky-high fuel prices, the Epstein mess has retreated from the public imagination. Yet, this thing is far from over. Sometimes we need a nudge to remember that. Last week, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee breathed new life into the scandal, releasing a 52-page report examining the relationship between President Trump and his onetime pal.” (11/01/26)
- Borders as Technologies of Domination
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato“The mass-mobility of the modern age was thrust upon the popular masses of people by war and violent dispossession. Within this context, the immigration system has always been used to attack and undermine the truly bottom-up movements of ordinary people. It is used to weaken political radicalism just as it is used to structure the labor market, to determine the bargaining position of workers, to allocate social and economic vulnerability, and to distribute economic power and privilege. So borders are several coercive social systems, not one.” (10/30/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/10/30/borders-as-technologies-of-domination/
- Where Is the Outrage When Islamophobia Comes Straight From the Top?
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin“The Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate coming from the highest levels of our government are absolutely outrageous. From President Donald Trump to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to members of Congress, including Sen.Ted Cruz and Rep. Nancy Mace, we are hearing vile, ignorant and dangerous attacks that must be denounced not just by the communities and individuals under attack, but by all of us. When RFK Jr. was campaigning in Michigan for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, he insulted the entire Arab community worldwide (all 500 million of them), saying that Arabs ‘don’t produce science, they don’t produce literature, and they don’t win Nobel Prizes or other prestigious international awards’. His remarks were not only incredibly racist, but absolutely false.” (10/31/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/outrage-over-islamophobia
- How Harvard changed since end of affirmative action: record breaking Asian admissions
Source: New York Post
by Rikki Schlott“Harvard’s student body is becoming more and more Asian in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision making race-based affirmative action illegal. The most recent class to graduate this past spring was 27.6% Asian. The newly admitted class of 2030 has reached a record high of 43.2% Asian students. The shift represents justice for Asian students and families who, until the Supreme Court overturned race-based affirmative action in 2023, had been unfairly shut out of elite institutions because they didn’t represent the ‘right’ kind of diversity. For years, in the name of ‘racial justice’, America’s premier colleges and universities discriminated against certain teenagers racially. But now meritocracy is on the rebound in academia. In June 2023, the Supreme Court voted 6 to 2 to overturn race based affirmative action after legal strategist Edward Blum and his organization, Students for Fair Admissions, sued Harvard University for allegedly discriminatory admissions practices.” (10/30/26)
- You Know What To Do
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan“‘Pretend I’m on the ballot!’ the president insists, as if there is any other Republican on the ballot. It’s been two years of governance without a Congress — the lifeless body effectively passes one bill a year while deferring in every other single respect to the cult leader — so voting for a Republican congressman or senator is, quite simply, a vote for Trump. And an endorsement of his de facto suspension of constitutional balance. So vote for anyone other than a Republican next Tuesday. Or if that’s too compromising for you, don’t vote at all.” (10/30/26)
- Controlling Culture in the Name of Climate Central Planning
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Richard M Ebeling“There are two ways someone can look at the social world in which we all live: with humility or with hubris. The person with humility looks with a degree of wonder and even amazement at how a complex world with over eight billion people can successfully do so much through decentralized decision-making in a web of interconnected global markets and achieve such an astonishing level of economic wellbeing and prosperity for the vast majority of the world’s population. People possessing a high degree of hubris look at that world and are frustrated and upset that so much goes on that they consider unfair, unjust, and irrational in the decisions and choices of so many people in their roles as consumers and producers.” (10/30/26)
- Kentucky’s draft social studies standards need major work
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Richard G Innes“Hopefully, thoughtful Kentuckians will take some time to look at what the state’s kids will, and will not, be learning and chime in. Our students deserve no less.” (10/30/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/kentuckys-draft-social-studies-standards/
- The Permanent Questions, 11/01/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Is Radicalism the Answer?” (11/01/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/11/is-radicalism-the-answer/689201/
- Free Talk Live, 11/01/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sarah from New Mexico says there’s going to be 74 polling locations just in her county! :: Dave in CO tells us about a NH Journal journalist kicked out of a NH Democrat meeting, says he should have gotten video :: Psychedelic nose spray beats depression :: Drama on what actress Sophia Bush said on Call Her Daddy :: Sydney Sweeney hot or ugly? :: Did Trump shoot down a private plane? :: NY to regulate how AI chatbots interact with children :: 2026-11-01 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Riley O’Bill, Rich E Rich.” (11/01/26)
- Neon Liberalism, episode 97
Source: Liberal Currents
“How the Wheels Came Off: China’s Economic Malaise.” (11/02/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/01/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Says Trump Won’t ‘Dictate’ Length of Renewed War, Syria Considers Joining Mecca Pact, and More.” (11/01/26)
- Unattended Baggage, episode 361
Source: Unattended Baggage
“It’s election day … again … maybe.” (10/31/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-361-its-election-dayagainmaybe
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/31/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Midterm DOJ Hunger Games Part 4 – US v. Alaska.” (10/31/26)
- Romina Boccia on Freedom Works with Paul Molloy
Source: Freedom Works
“The Unseen Factor Driving Social Security Problems.” (10/31/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-10-31_zfw10262026.mp3
- The Good Fight, 10/31/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Dan Williams on Why AI (Probably) Won’t Kill Us.” (10/31/26)
- The Mona Charen Show, 10/31/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Elon Musk’s DOGE Was a Colossal Con Job (w/ Max Stier).” (10/31/26)
- The Fifth Column, episode 581
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Socialist Walks Into The Fifth Column (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara).” (10/30/260
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/a-socialist-walks-into-the-fifth
- Nonzerio, 10/30/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is an AI Bubble Bursting? | Robert Wright & Liron Shapira.” (10/30/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/30/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Can the upcoming elections turn the economy around?” (10/30/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 10/30/26
Source: Washington Post
“How AI went from fringe idea to unstoppable force.” (10/30/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/how-ai-went-from-fringe-idea-to-unstoppable-force/
- Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Patrick Pillow about the series he just started publishing on the regime change in Egypt in 2011.” (10/30/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/30/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Rages as Leaks Reveal How Aides Soothe Him With Midterm Hopium.” (10/30/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217353/trump-rages-leaks-reveal-aides-soothe-midterm-hopium
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2809
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Inflation Isn’t Going to Stop: What to Do.” (10/30/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2809-the-inflation-isnt-going-to-stop-what-to-do/
- Galaxy Brain, 10/30/26
Source: The Atlantic
“The Internet Might Need to Be Rebuilt From Scratch.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/10/is-it-time-to-rebuild-the-internet/689218
- Freakonomics Radio, episode 693
Source: Freakonomics
“What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore?” (10/30/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/whats-our-job-as-humans-anymore/
- The Dispatch Podcast, 10/30/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Democrats Play Dirty in Alaska.” (10/30/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/democrats-play-dirty-in-alaska/
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 604
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich & Riley talk about The Libertarian who had a shoot out with Police, and why this lead to the Age of Consent discussion, and how Libertarians seem to be unaware of the Streisand Effect.” (10/30/26)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2026/10/30/the-anarchist-experience-604/